The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, began a trip that will include a stop in the capital of Saudi Arabia where he will lead conversations with Ukraine, after which he will travel to Canada to participate in a meeting of foreign ministers of the group of the seven.
The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, arrives on Monday at Yeddah, Saudi Arabia, to keep conversations between Washington and kyiv, while President Donald Trump promotes negotiations for a rapid end to war between Russia and Ukraine.
During his stay in Yeddah, Rubio will also meet with the Saudi heir prince, Mohammed Bin Salman to the Saud, to analyze ways to promote shared interests in the region and strengthen the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia, said state department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce.
According to the State Department, Rubio “stressed the determination of President Trump to end the war as soon as possible and emphasized that all parties must take measures to ensure sustainable peace” in a Friday call with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha.
On Monday, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will visit the Kingdom of the Gulf to meet with the Saudi heir prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, in Riad. But it is possible that he does not attend Tuesday's conversations with US officials.
On Tuesday, a Ukrainian diplomatic and military delegation headed by the head of the cabinet of Zelenskyy, Andriy Yermak, will remain in Saudi Arabia to talk with US officials. The Ukrainian team will also include Sybiha, the Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, and the military commander Pavlo Palisa.
Rubio will join the United States National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, for Yeddah conversations with Ukrainian officials.
A senior state department official told the press that “the fact that they (Ukrainian officials) come here (Saudi Arabia) at higher levels is a good indication for us that they want to sit and are ready to move forward.”
American officials have said that the objective of Tuesday's conversations is to establish a framework for a peace agreement and a high initial fire.
The conversations between the United States and Ukraine will take place three weeks after senior US officials had conversations with Russian officials in Riyadh.
Ukraine said he is “fully compromised” with a constructive dialogue with the United States and expects to “discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps.”
“Ukraine has been looking for peace since the first second of this war. There are realistic proposals on the table. The key is to advance quickly and efficiently, ”Zelenskyy wrote in an X post on Saturday.
Foreign Ministers of the G7
After his visit to Saudi Arabia, Rubio will travel to Charlevoix, Canada, for the Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) from March 12 to 14.
In a joint statement after the conversations held within the framework of the Munich Security Conference in February, the G7 Foreign Ministers underlined their commitment to help “achieve lasting peace” and “reaffirmed the need to develop solid security guarantees” for Ukraine.
“Any new additional sanction after February should be linked to whether the Russian Federation undertakes real and good faith efforts to end the war against Ukraine,” added the joint statement.